1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a development apparatus useful for manufacturing a semiconductor device, especially to a discharge nozzle useful for the development process.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a conventional development apparatus used in manufacturing a semiconductor.
The conventional development apparatus comprises a developer tank 1, an electromagnetic valve 2, a nozzle pipe 3, and a spray nozzle (nozzle tip) 4. The surface of a substrate 5 is coated with a developer sprayed by the spray nozzle 4. The substrate 5 is left for tens of seconds with the coated developer so that a photo-resist film is reacted with the developer to create a pattern.
The coating of the surface of the substrate 5 with the developer by the spray nozzle 4 is performed such that the developer is discharged in a shape of fan in order to coat a large area of the substrate 5 in a short time.
However, according to the above-described conventional method, it is required that the spray angle of the developer discharged by the spray nozzle 4 is so large that the surface of the substrate 5 is coated with the developer in a short time. For this purpose, it is necessary to set high the discharge pressure of the developer. It, however, causes a great impact on the surface of the substrate 5, which results in decrease of the uniformity of the resist pattern.
Although the spray angle and the impact strength are variable with the inner diameter and the discharge pressure of the spray nozzle 4, no spray nozzle has met both requirements for a large spray angle (large sprayed area) and a low discharge pressure (low impact strength).
Also, according to the conventional method, the substrate 5 is rotated during the spray to efficiently apply the developer onto the surface of the substrate 5. However, a considerable amount of the developer is wasted because of the centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the substrate 5.